An Introduction to the Legal System of the United States, Fourth Edition

Author E. Allan Farnsworth, (1928-2005) was the distinguished Alfred McCormack Professor of Law at Columbia University and renowned for his scholarship on American contract law, among other topics. His lectures throughout the U.S., and his many articles, brought clarity and a much larger degree of uniformity to the commercial law of the fifty states. He was the author of numerous best-selling books and publications. Editor Steve Sheppard is the William H. Enfield Professor of Law at University of Arkansas School of Law. He has written widely on legal history and legal philosophy and is the co-author of American Law in a Global Context: The Basics with George P. Fletcher (Oxford University Press, 2005) and editor of Bramble Bush: The Classic Lectures on the Law and Law School (Oxford University Press 2008).

• Editor's Introduction Table of Contents Preface to the Third Edition A Note on Terminology  Part One: Sources and Techniques Chapter 1 Historical Background Chapter 2 Legal Education Chapter 3 Legal Profession Chapter 4 The Judicial System Chapter 5 Case Law Chapter 6 The Legislative System Chapter 7 Statutes Chapter 8 Secondary Authority  Part Two: Organization and Substance Chapter 9 Classification Chapter 10 Procedure Chapter 11 Private Law Chapter 12 Public Law  Appendix 1 Reading Case Law and Statutes Appendix 2 Selected Readings by E. Allan Farnsworth Index